On Friday, President Trump warned the GOP against trying to replace the previous Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy. For McCarthy to secure the speakership, he must acquire a minimum of 218 votes, meaning he cannot lose more than four Republican votes. Currently, at least five House Republicans have spoken out against McCarthy’s ability to be an effective House speaker.

In an interview with Breitbart, Trump threw his support behind McCarthy, saying, “I like him.” 

Trump warned that in trying to get rid of McCarthy, the GOP could end up with someone less advantageous, “I think it’s a very dangerous game that’s being played,” Trump said. “It’s a very dangerous game. Some bad things could happen. Look, we had Boehner, and he was a strange person, but we ended up with Paul Ryan, who was ten times worse. Paul Ryan was an incompetent speaker. I think he goes down as the worst Speaker in history. We took [out] Boehner—and a group of people, some of whom are the same, and they’re very good friends of mine. All those people are very good friends of mine.”

McCarthy was asked if he would support Trump in return. McCarthy did not provide a direct answer but acknowledged that if President Trump was in office, we wouldn’t have inflation, a runaway border, high gas prices, and greater stability in the world.

Reporter: “Trump endorsed you for Speaker. Are you planning to endorse him above all other candidates?”

McCarthy: “We haven’t talked about it yet.”

 

Trump is among other conservative leaders raising concerns over the Speakership. Radio host Mark Levin, Jim Jordan, and James Comer, the incoming chairmen, respectively, of the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees, have also flagged concerns over ending up with a lesser option resulting from the GOP faction choosing Speaker.

Trump compared two previous Speakers at length, John Boehner and Paul Ryan, who was voted in to replace Boehner. Trump likened Boehner to Winston Churchill when comparing him with Ryan,

“Think of it—we ended up with Paul Ryan. Boehner was like Winston Churchill compared to Paul Ryan,” Trump said. “Boehner wasn’t perfect—nobody’s perfect—but Paul Ryan was a disaster for the Republican Party. That’s what we got. Now we have to live with him. He’s destroying Fox, and he’s destroying the New York Post. We got to live with this maniac. This guy, Paul Ryan, couldn’t have gotten elected in his own area of Wisconsin. I went with him after I won the election, and we had a tremendous crowd of people, and they booed him off the stage. You remember that? They booed him off the stage. This guy is now telling Fox what to do.”

 

Join The Conversation. Leave a Comment.


We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.